REMEMBERED till the end of time

'Music, when soft voices die'

- SUNAINI SHARMA

An 1824 poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley befittingly expresses the emotional state of mind with which I write today.

Just as Shelley's poetic tools rightly describe how memories of our loved ones become immortalized within the sound compartments of our brain even though the person has moved on or away, it aptly resonates with my personal recollection of my grandmother's voice, a golden voice, as if dipped in honey, melting into your soul, reverberates in my ears even today with the same warmth and love, the unconditional pride and joy with which she always pampered me and kept me safely away from any dwindling thoughts of my being less accomplished than any other. Her simplicity and humility leave me amazed and in awe even today; for she was the most grounded and rooted Super Star, I had; and till date have seen or met. With no qualms whatsoever of her fame, popularity and fan following in the days of virtually zilch technology available for social media publicity, she was a household name, heard and loved by Punjabi audiences across the borders and far-flung corners of the globe. Yet, she would be sitting every morning, braiding my thick curly hair inexhaustibly, while I fussed over the left braid not being as tight as the right one; and she would patiently undo them and re-do them until I was satisfied, humming along a sweet melody to calm my childish outrage and somewhere probably understand and relate to the anger regarding my unmanageable locks for hers' were a similar texture too.